Racial Justice Advocacy

In 2015, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton encouraged all ELCA Lutherans and congregations to start having conversations about race. Women of the ELCA applauds this idea; we have been having helpful conversations about racial justice since 1997.

We know some of the hazards of having conversations about race. We know far too many conversations about race fail to be helpful. This is a shame, because it takes a great deal of energy to have any conversation about race. It makes sense to direct some of that energy to learning how to have helpful conversations about race.

And so, Women of the ELCA offers three resources to help.

The resources include “How to have helpful conversations about race in the church”; a Bible study, “Listening to the third slave”; and a historical timeline to help congregations better understand race relations in the current climate. An anti-racism Bible study “The Story of Peter & Cornelius” has been updated.

The resources below are available for free download.

Resources

Let’s talk about race

Far too many conversations about race fail to be helpful. This resource, “How to have a helpful conversation about race in the church,” offers congregations a way to begin talking about race. This resource includes a glossary of definitions common among anti-racism practitioners and racial justice advocates.

new bible study

“Listening to the third slave” takes a fresh look at the parable of the talents in Matthew and Luke. What if the slave who tucked away the master’s money wasn’t lazy after all? What if he wanted to make a point?

historical timeline of race relations

This historical timeline begins with the Doctrine of Discovery and focuses on the immigration and naturalization trends that created and preserved a mostly White nation. It culminates in the criminalization of people of color after the emancipation of the African slave.